Nick's Blog

What I knew Starting Out When I first chose this topic I knew a lot of the basics about social media, like some of the positives and negatives that I covered in my talk. I knew that social media was good to help raise money, build relationships, and form communities. I also knew the negatives, such as cyber bullying, addiction, and mental/health issues. Although I knew the broad genres of social media use I did not know the details to both positives or negatives. For example out of everyone that sees cyber bullying occur, only 10% report it. It was facts and research like this that really opened my eyes to the benefits and downfalls of social media. Why I Selected This Topic The reason why I picked this topic is because it related to everyone in the classroom and arguably in the school. In our world today over 85% of teens and younger adults have smartphones and use social media daily, whether that is texting, snapchatting, going on Instagram, or tweeting. My goal was to...

Please Ignore Vera Dietz , by A. S. King, is a fiction novel about a girl named Vera and the mystery of what happened to her best friend Charlie Kahn. At the beginning of the novel Vera is attending her best friend’s funeral after he has died suddenly. Throughout the novel Vera is faced with the nagging of Charlie’s ghost constantly trying to get her to clear his name, trying to forget that her mom left her and her dad to be a stripper in Las Vegas, and the everyday struggles that a teen faces in their life. Throughout Vera’s life all she ever wants is to grow up to be her own person and not take after her mother or father, but could some of the choices lead her down the path she so desperately wants to avoid? A huge key to this novel and why the novel is so good is because of the main character Vera. Readers could make the argument that Charlie is the most important character due to his secret and death but Vera takes the ranks. She is an interesting and conflicting character and ...

Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch, is a science fiction novel that follows the emotional and terrifying journey of Jason Dessen to get his family back. Jason is a science teacher at Lakemont College, with a son and wife named Charlie and Daniela. One night when returning home from a party, the life Jason knows and loves is taken from him. He awakens at Velocity Laboratories with a group of scientists greeting him and asking him how his journey was. Jason is very confused and escapes from the lab to find his wife but comes to a startling discovery, that he has been brought to a new world. Using help from another Velocity Labs employee to escape, Jason travels from dimension to dimension facing danger, heartbreak, and revenge in hopes to find his beloved family. As he gets closer and closer, he learns that he is not the only Jason coming for his loved ones. Will Jason be able to overcome himself to bring back and secure his family from the danger that awaits? A huge part of this novel is t...

Voice Recorder >> My name is Nick Blum and I believe that playing sports creates a bond with your teammates that is forever unbreakable. Since the age of 4, I have been playing sports. Whether it was on an organized team or just with friends outside having fun, you could always find me with some type of ball, bat, or stick. My mom was the person who turned me onto sports and it was at a very young age. When I was born I was surrounded by the world of sports. My family constantly would watch sports or buy me banners and clothes with their favorite teams on it. Every day as a baby, my mom would come home from work and toss me a foam Detroit Lions ball to teach me how to catch, and it is here where my love for sports began. I started playing baseball at the age of 4 and have been playing ever since. I also had a 4 year stint on the SJA football team, until I was forced to stop playing from multiple concussions. Although the aspects of the two sports were different in many ways...

Do you like to read fantasy or science fiction? Why or why not? What fantasy or science fiction location from a novel (or movie) is your favorite? Would you want to go there yourself? Why or why not? Throughout my life I have read many books that were science fiction or fantasy and each one I liked a lot. Some of the more notable series I read that fit this profile would be Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, Harry Potter, and many more. I like reading these types of books because the author can make anything happen and the reader does not have to question it's existence. I love the different type of worlds in the books I have read like Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the abundance of districts in the Hunger Games. I just find it so fascinating and mind blowing to think that one person could come up with so much stuff about a completely different world or realm by themselves. Most of these books have a mystery or some sort of conflict and action. Action and mystery is something th...

The Art of Racing In the Rain , by Garth Stein, is a fiction novel about a man named Denny Swift and his dog Enzo’s journey focusing on the chasing of one’s dream. Denny is a race car driver at heart and spends his free time studying film and racing. His dog Enzo narrates the story and guides the reader through the novel. Denny and his wife Eve have a daughter named Zoe and live together as a happy family until Eve becomes sick. A series of events takes place that turns Denny’s life upside down and forces him to fight for the custody of his daughter from Eve’s parents. Through the perseverance of Denny and the endless amounts of support and love from Enzo, Denny battles to get his daughter back and achieve his dream of becoming a famous driver. Will Denny’s live be left in shambles, or will he rise to the occasion and turn his life into his longing dream? A major key to this novel and an important reason that the novel is so good is because of Enzo, Denny’s dog. Enzo has a great ...

Description This infographic is a presentation on why money can buy you happiness. The goal was to show the audience through scientific research, surveys, and the wants of people today that money is a huge key. Money can buy you happiness because having the privilege to obtain and have hands on large amounts of money can give financial stability which can lower stress, give the ability to donate to others which is proven to make yourself feel better, allow others to pay for time which is one of the top wants of a human shown in recent studies. Money can not only allow a person to buy what they want, but it can help people to buy things that give them happiness.  Reflection For Contemporary Literature class we were assigned to choose a topic and debate it versus another student. My partner and I chose this topic because it was an easy way to argue both sides and we both had opposing opinions in a way. I chose this side of the argument because I believed it was the eas...

Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Book Store is a novel about a man named Clay Jannon, a young web-designer who is looking for a job in the San Francisco area. One day while looking, Clay comes across a quaint little bookstore run by the uncanny Mr. Penumbra. Many nights come and go and the secrets held by the bookstore shelves, customers, and the ominous Mr. Penumbra begin to gnaw at Clay. With a lot of bravery and the desire to know the truth, Clay and his friends uncover a puzzle that leads to Mr. Penumbra exposing the gang to the bookstore's long kept secret. With the new knowledge of the bookstore's secret, the group of friends continue to find new mysteries and secrets to solve and discover. The team is faced with multiple challenges and puzzles to crack to find the answer to the almighty Codex Vitae, a biography written by a man named Aldus Manutius. Will the gang crash and burn, or will they succeed and expose the truth? A big part of this novel was the main character Clay J...

My favorite narrator is from the Harry Potter series and is unknown. The books are written by JK Rowling and you could consider her to be the narrator but it is never really declared. My favorite type of narration is third person because then readers are able to understand the views of the many different characters in the novel. I also enjoy first person because then the reader can know everything that the character is thinking and their beliefs. I think it really depends on the type of novel and how many characters are in it. Harry Potter is a series of novels written by JK Rowling about a magical boy named Harry Potter who on his 11th birthday discovers he is a wizard. He leaves his aunt and uncle who have looked after him since his parents were murdered, to attend a boarding school for wizards called Hogwarts. Here he meets his two closest friends Ron and Hermione along with other members and teachers of the school. In each book Harry and his friends take on a variety of mission...

Recently I took part in a project for my Contemporary Literature class that was supposes to encourage other students to read. We had the option to do a Twitter campaign, make a video, or create posters; I chose to create my own posters. By making posters, I wanted to show students in my school that kids their age do read and think it is fun. In each of these posters I chose two UofD students or teachers to ask questions to regarding their love for reading. Along with the names, questions, and responses, I included pictures of each persons favorite book or series. Why Do They Look Like This? I chose this format for the posters because I thought it would be the easiest way for other students to receive the data. I also thought that the order of how the poster is was neat and clear for everyone to see. Thought Behind Design? Honestly, while looking through examples of prior projects, I saw a design that had a similar layout and I thought that it would be very effective....

I have chosen to do a poster campaign to encourage fellow students to read more. I chose the poster campaign because I think that it is the best way for others to see how many people read and what reading can do for you. Students will easily see posters everyday when walking through the halls and the visual can inspire and encourage others to read. My posters are going to be printed and will be modeled off of a survey/questionnaire type style. My idea is to ask students in multiple grades questions about reading. These questions will be; Do you read on a normal basis? Do you like to read? Why or why not? What is your favorite thing you have ever read? Why is reading important in the world? I believe that these questions will show others in the school that reading is fun and cool and that you should never be ashamed or feel embarrassed to read. It will deliver the message that reading enhances one’s intelligence and will assist them with a better comprehension, vocabulary, and unders...

1. What have your previous experiences with English classes been like? 2. Do you like to read? Why or why not? 3. What do you hope to get out of this Contemporary Literature class? My previous experiences with English classes have been pretty positive. My Freshman year coming into UofD Jesuit I was not a huge fan of English but that all quickly changed. My teacher was Mr. Davidson and he offered a new way of learning English in a fun environment. He taught me new ways to write essays, read books, and to become more enhanced with English. At the end of the year, English became one of my top three subjects and since then it has followed the same trend. As a sophomore, I had another great year with Mr. Davidson and my class and I continued to expand my love for English. Unfortunately, my Junior year took a slight turn for the worse.  The workload was heavier, I did not love my teacher as much as I had before, and having to juggle after school activities with school was difficult. ...